Overview

Editorial Reviews

Stephen Spender

The Plague is parable and sermon, and should be considered as such. The Plague stands or falls by its message. The message is not the highest form of creative art, but it may be of such importance for our time that to dismiss it in the name of artistic criticism would be to blaspheme against the human spirit.
— Books of the Century; New York Times review August 1948

Meet the Author

Albert Camus (1913-1960) was a representative of non-metropolitan French literature. His origin in Algeria and his experiences there in the thirties were dominating influences in his thought and work. Of semi-proletarian parents, early attached to intellectual circles of strongly revolutionary tendencies, with a deep interest in philosophy (only chance prevented him from pursuing a university career in that field), he came to France at the age of twenty-five. The man and the times met: Camus joined the resistance movement during the occupation and after the liberation was a columnist for the newspaper Combat. But his journalistic activities had been chiefly a response to the demands of the time; in 1947 Camus retired from political journalism and, besides writing his fiction and essays, was very active in the theatre as producer and playwright (e.g., Caligula, 1944). He also adapted plays by Calderon, Lope de Vega, Dino Buzzati, and Faulkner's Requiem for a Nun. His love for the theatre may be traced back to his membership in L'Equipe, an Algerian theatre group, whose "collective creation" Révolte dans les Asturies (1934) was banned for political reasons.

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A sad, deep book

Although a bit slow at times, this is a very good book that is worth reading. This book has a lot of characters that I found interesting and memorable. Like the characters, the text is very deep and philosphical, and I will probably have to read the story again to fully understand it.

2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted July 15, 2012

Interesting but drags along.

I found the book interesting, however, it is a rather dark read. The disease in the Algerian towm seems real and the characters pretty apathetic to their condition. No surprises or twists in the story line. A real treatise on city government control in a crisis.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted January 22, 2012

Just purchased but every time i try to read i am sent to a website after title page. Am i just out my money? Was this a rip off?

Just purchased but when i try to read am sent a web site after cover page. Did i just get ripped off? How do i get a refund?

1 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted August 17, 2011

Death, a situation for life.

Camus concerns himself with the hearts of men, and puts them in terrible situations to explore their reactions. Ultimately what he sees is that most don't see, but those who do strive ceaselessly for life. I imagine this translation loses what many consider his lyrical style, and thats to be expected, but at times it is tough to read. Certainly worth it, however.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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8771679

Posted August 8, 2011

Like scripture

Those familiar with Camus will know what to expect in term of philosophy. There's a quote-worthy line on nearly every page. It's definitely a book to ponder, to absorb and to compare to your own life. But you'll probably be pleasantly surprised by the engaging storyline and warm, tactile characters. Not as depressing or internal as The Stranger or A Happy Death, this book plays like a good tv miniseries, with drama and humor in equal measure. The translation seems wordier than I think of Camus being, but it's rarely distracting. All in all a terrific read I look forward to reading again.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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AnonMI

Posted October 24, 2014

Interesting that this is actually about a real plague over 100 y

Interesting that this is actually about a real plague over 100 years before, and today, over a hundred years later we are facing a terrible plague called Ebola, and the disinterest and lack of concern by the world in general wasn't there until it began to affect people of a white skin.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted September 26, 2013

Mario

Mari

0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted August 3, 2013

?

I need nook friend so please put down your name and last + email address thanks "the story was o.k i guess

0 out of 6 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted May 3, 2013

TheDixieChick

Read some reveiws, decide if you like the book based on reveiws, whatever. Even though I haven't read The Plague yet, I say you should read the book then decide if you like it. Don't review this book in decisions of other reviews.

(:3) [sorry i just like derps]

0 out of 7 people found this review helpful.

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Anonymous

Posted February 15, 2005

The Plague and the sadness it caused me

The book starts off in the simple town of Oran life is going just fine for most of the people in this town. All is fine until soon many rats start dying there are dead rats everywhere in the town and the poor doctor Rieux is not having a good time for his wife is very ill and so he has to send her on her way to a place where she can supposedly be taken better care of so he sends her away. The thousands of rats that were dying have decreased and now there are a few people falling mysteriously ill and then dying of unknown causes. The symptoms of the disease are unlike any that Dr Rieux has ever seen and he cannot seem to think what might be the problem causing the deaths are but he does know that it is connected to the mass death of rats that previously attacked the town. Quicker than they know what struck the people, more and more people begin to die even people quite close to the doctor. The story switches form time to time but it still is very interesting. At times the story can be very sad for you know that at a time this happened to people during the ¿Black Death¿ (Bubonic Plague). In the end of the story I began to feel a lot of sorrow for the people that had to go through such pain. Rieux lives the bubonic plague but as the few other towns people celebrate the end of the disaster he thinks that the celebrations will not last long for the disease will be back to take the lives of more people which is true for as he thinks I think, diseases can lie dormant for a long time and then come back.

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Anonymous

Posted March 12, 2004

The Plague

Albert Camus pulls the reader into his story, The Plague. Set in Oran, North Africa, plague breaks out and you are brought into the lives of a few people who have been affected by this outbreak. In The Plague, you are introduced into a number of people¿s lives. The main characters in the book are Rieux, Tarrou, Rambert, Grand, and Cottard. Rieux is a doctor and throughout the entire book he treats numerous patients who are diagnosed with plague. Tarrou, Rieux¿s closest friend in the story, spends a lot of time writing down observations in his journal. Rambert is a man whose only goal is to see his wife again. His wife was out of town when the plague struck and the city closed, so he was separated from his wife. Rieux was also separated from his wife, but he wasn¿t as emotional about it as Rambert was. Grand is a writer and he spends most of his time trying to write a story, but never even makes the title. Cottard is a man who has lived in poverty. Towards the beginning of The Plague, Cottard tries to kill himself, but doesn¿t. After that happened, Cottard became a smuggler. The conflict for everybody and everything in this book is plague. This story is told in a third-person omniscient point of view. The story starts out peaceful and everything seems good, but suddenly dead rats start appearing everywhere and people start getting sick and dying. I don¿t want to give away too much of the story, so you can read the rest yourself. This book very accurately describes the conditions present in the time of a plague. When I read the book, I couldn¿t find any weak points. Everything was very believable and once I started reading it, I couldn¿t stop. All of the characters in the story are static and I felt like I really understood them. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Once you start reading it, you can¿t stop. It makes you realize how good your life actually is and that you shouldn¿t take it for granted. This book is for all ages. I think everybody should read this book.

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Anonymous

Posted March 26, 2003

A profound and humane work,Camus' best

This book is one of my favorites , and I believe one of the greatest novels ever written.And this in part because it makes so real the problem of human suffering .And because too it presents a view of mankind in which the heroic resistance to the cruelty of life and nature ennobles and gives meaning to life. The work is rich in memorable characters .And the creation of the collective mood , the description of the life of Oran is evocative and convincing . The theme of mankind's struggle with suffering and the threat of illness and death is explored through the lives of the work's major character. Dr.Rieux 's determined and yet somehow resigned effort to heal each sick person is one central approach to the suffering. Camus portrays in a convincing way the reaction of Father Paneloux a good man to a suffering which in its great horror throws his whole religious view in question. The plague itself, which in political terms has been seen as 'fascism'but which may be in metaphysical terms be seen as the inherent defectiveness within life itself is a central ' actor ' and ' character ' of the work. Camus beautiful and poetic way of writing also is responsible for the love this work inspires in the reader. I cannot think of a work of fiction which I would recommend more highly.

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Anonymous

Posted August 27, 2000

Philosophical Masterpiece

This work is a great philosophical look into the ways that mankind deals with suffering. It is an inspirition to feel conpassion for and to serve one's fellow man. This is a truely profound work!

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